Windows 7 Explorer - Activate mouse focus to be able to scroll in tree and file view?

Question

I'd like to be able to scroll in the tree view without having to click in it. Is there a way to do this? I have once used a tool that generally gives focus to the window underneath the mouse cursor, but this caused some other glitches so I would like to achieve this without an extra tool. I also think that there are programs that embed the Windows Explorer and offer more features, including the behaviour I would like to have. But maybe a registry value change is all that is needed?

Answer 1

I have installed WizMouse which allows scrolling in background/non-focus windows (as per standard Mac behaviour) which should solve the issue - and in my opinion should be default mouse behaviour anyway :)

To be clear, it doesn't need to grab the focus and bring the window to the front, just allows you to scroll in the background.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

You can use F6 to move focus between the different sections of the current window, and I think Windows Explorer also accepts Tab for much the same function. This will probably require more than a single press though.

You might also want to have a look at the Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcut List, as that might be useful. Note that it does not provide a shortcut to give focus to the folder tree, so we can probably assume that there isn't one built in.

Answer 3

In Windows 7 Control panel > "Ease of Access Centre" > "Make the mouse easier to use" there is an option to grab focus on hover, however, this will affect all windows, not just explorer.